Reversing mechanism and safety stopping device for dyeing machinery



Oct. 14, 1924. 1,511198'8 R. N. TOWERS REVERSING MECHANISM AND SAFETY STOPPING DEVICE FOR 1mm; momma;

' Filed Jan. 50. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

ATTORNEYS Oct. 14 1924. 1,511,988

1 R. N. TOWERS REVERSING MECHANISM AND SAFETY STOPPING DEVICE FOR DYEING MACHINERY Filed Jan. 30. 1924 2 Sheets-Shae. 2.

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IN V EN TOR F/Y 7611 5/35,

A TTORN E YS Patented Oct. 14, 1924.

REUBEN NORTON TOWERS, OF ROME, GEORGIA.

REVERSING MECHANISM AND SAFETY STQPIPING DEVICE FOR DYEING MACHINERY.

Application filed January 30, 1324.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l. REUBEN h'onrorr Townes, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Home. in the county of Floyd, in the State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heversing Mechanism and Safety Stopping Devices for Dyeing Machinery, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in reversing and safety stopping mechanisms for dyeing machinery and the like, and it consists of the constructions combinations. and arrangements herein described and claimed.

One of the foremost objects of the in vention is to provide a safety mechanism to be used in connection with rotary dyeing machines, laundry mangles et cetera, by the use of which it is possible to manually turn the cylinder so that the opening therein may he brought around to thetank opening, and at the same time prevent the operating power to be thrown on.

Another object of the invention and one which follows the foregoing objects in natural sequence, is to provide means which prevents the manual turning or racking means from being thrown into gear when the rotary cylinder of the machine is being power driven.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following specification. reference being had to the accompanying drawings. in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of enough of a rotary dyeing machine to illustrate the application of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Figure 1..portions of the dyeing machine being shown in section Figure 3 is a detail section of the tight and loose pulleys involved in the invention,

Figure 4 is a view on the order of Figure 2, parts being in section, showing the mechanism set for oscillating the cylinder.

Figure 5 is a cross section on the line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Figure 2 showing the hand racking pinion in the inward position to mesh with the cylinder gear.

Figure 7 is a similar section showing the hand racking pinion drawn out,

Figure 8 1s a detail side elevation of the hand racking pinion and its associated parts.

clockwise direction.

Serial No. 639,497.

particularly illustrating the latch by which turning thereof may be prevented.

The invention constitutes both a reversing mechanism and a safety stopping device applicable to many types of rotating machinery, particular ones of such type as dyeing machines and laundry mangles. In Figure 1 the tank of the dyeing machine is indicated at 1. The cylinder 2 rotates on the inside. The material to bedyed is introduced'at a door 3 in the tank 1, the cylinder 2having a, door for a similar purpose. This door is not shown.

It is the purposeof the invention to retate the cylinder 2 in opposite directions alternately. The cylinder carries a large gear 4- with which a driving pinion 5 mesh-es at one side. A smaller pinion 6 meshes with the gear 4 at the other side, this pinion being termed the racking pinion because of its function to turn the cylinder 2 by manual effort independently of the driving pinion A shaft 7 carries the driving pinion suitable b a rings. for example 8 (Fig. 2) providing the support for the shaft. This shaft also carries a fast pulley 9 which is st tioned between loose pulleys 10 and ll (Fig. 3). The latter carries a worm pinion 12 which meshes with a worm gear 13. This gear carries a wrist pin 14 which occupies the slot 15 of an oscillator 16 which is pivoted at 17 to the same bearing support 18 upon which the worm gear 13 is mounted. Rotation of the shaft 7 causes turning of the worm gear 13 so that the oscillator 16 is moved from side to side as suggested in Figure 4. The gear 13 makes complete revolutions, the slot 15 in the oscillator being long enough for the purpose.

Rotation of the shaft 7 is accomplished by belts 19 and 20 the first being straight, the second crossed. Figure 2 shows the belts in a neutral position. Upon shifting the belts so that the belt 19 contacts both the fast pulleys 9 and loose pulley 10 will result in driving the shaft 7 in a clockwise direction. The cylinder 2 will then turn in a counter Shifting the belts so that the belt 20 overlaps the fast pulley 9 will result in a reversal of the direction of rotation of both the shaft 7 and cylinder 2.

This shifting of belts is accomplished by the oscillator 16. For this purpose the oscillator has a pin 21 occupying the notch 22 of the shifter bar v23 which has pivotal attachment at 24 with the belt shifter frame 25. This frame is carried by a pair of shifter rods 26 which move in suitable bearings 27 upon adjacent fixed parts of the machinery. The shifter frame includes the familiar yokes 28 which receive the belts andcause the lateral moving thereof when the shifter frame is. moved Obviously upon lifting the shifter bar 23 so that the notch 22 is disengaged froin the pin 21 (Fig. 2)v reciprocation of the frame. 25. must cease due to its disconnection from the. oscillator 16. It is possible to disengage the shifter bar from the oscillator while the latter is, in the erect position (Fig. 2) thereby stopping the belts upon the loose pulleys so that a neutral. position is assnnaed. For these. purposes, the free end of the sh t it: pas es hrou h e fi e ui tanda d 29 h ch as a i s (Fit? which receive. a slider 3.1,

The guide standard and sh der are. slot-ted to, permit the shifter bar to pass through.

The slot in the slider is rather short, but the slot 32 (Figure 4) in the; standard is long enoughto accommodate such movement of the shifter bar as. is necessary to elevate it to a disconnected position.

A bell crank 33, has connection with the lower end of; the slider 31 (Fig. 5) so that rocking of the bell crank by neans of the control lever through the connecting rod 35. will raise or lower the. slider to, either stop or start the machi .ne. Movement. of the lever toward the. right stops, the nachine; movement toward the left starts the machine; This is plainly indicated in Figu-re 5. The bell crank is pivoted at 36 to the head of the tank 1.. The control lever is similarly pivoted at 31.

A. lug 38 at the lower end. of the control lever 3st constitutes one of the. elements of a safety device which inalres it impossible. to throw the shifter bar 23 in gear to, drive the cylinder 2 by power while the racking pinion 6 is in mesh. with the gear 4:. Again, the lug '38 is one of the elements, which, prevents the pinion 6. from being moved into engagement with the gear 4 while the shifter bar 23 is gear and the cylinder 2 is being driven by power. Refer to Figures 6 if, 8. The. racking pinion 6 carried by aracking dia ft 38. which isboth revolu le a s id-ab ea ng the le d Of the a 5 ll A collar 44) liinits the outward n oveinent of the shaft 38 upon being pu ed by the $1. This crank has a handle e2 by me a at ch h ha s t rne y T e h of the week has sew-. ange .4 it hi h e his 8 eng he the racking pin 6 n mes h, h s a he flane fi ig an bstrue e t movement. of en al le r- 5 eward he l ft (E e. 5 and. he. consequ t starting of the machine. A reduction 45 in the bearing 39- provides a eirculargroove into which the lug 38 may move upon shifting the control lever 34 toward the left to start the machine when the crank 41 has been pulled out far enough to permit passage of the lug 38' beyond the dang-e44. All this is clearly shown in Figures 6 and 7. Figure 7 makes it clear that the shaft 38 may not be pushed in to bring the pinion p as the lug 38 occupies the circular groove mentioned. The presence of'the lug in this circular groove offers an obstruction tothe flange 44E of the hub 43 thereby preventing the accidental meshing of the pinion 6 while the machine is driven by dower. v

Anticipating the necessity of holding the cylinder 2 from turning while charging or di ssllareii e' mater s. pr i i s I i d? of a latch 456 (Figure 8 which may be moved nt an n of a plur l of was s in th p r ph ry f the r u r flan e T latch is pivoted at 48 upon the bearing.' 49 which is rigid with the frame of themachine. p I of the notches l7 will keep the shaft'3'8 from turning and consequently hold the cylinder 2 in the desired position. cannot be turned by hand as long as tl' latch 41-6 is in such engagement, but the engagement of the latch 46 presupposes either a charging of the cylinder with the materials or a removal of the materials from the cylinder.

The operation may be readily understood from the following description. Starting and stopping of the machine is accomplished by the control lever 34 in Figure 5. 'Move ment of the lever toward the left ro ts the bell crank 33 down so that the slider 31 moves down and the notch seeks engagement with the pin 21 of the oscillate The pin 21 and notch 22' can be brought into registration. by manually turning the rack ing crank .1 until the worm l3 moves the oscillator 16 into line with the pin Simultaneously with the movement of the control lever 34- toward the left the lug 3H will enter the space behind the circular flan e i l of the crank hubtl ig. T) to. preve pushing inward on the or c 4'1 .51. moving the racl a mee i the; i s occur that the rack n ee/1. th he a a e possible to move the control lev toward the left to start the machine be arise the circular flange will be in theway of the lug to prevent any such movement of the control lever. y

To; stop the. machine the control lever 34; is movedtoward the right. This raises the b ll crank 59' h t th s id 35. sie it ar ses 0., wi l l ft he. s er bar from engagement with the pins 21 on the 0 into engagement with the gear 4 long Moving the latch into the nearest The shaft 88 i no oscillator 16. With a little skill the operator may exercise such judgment in throwing the control lever '84 that the belts l9 and 20 will stop on the loose pulleys 10 and 11 (Figure 2). This movement of the control lever displaces the lug 38 from the region of the reduction 45 (Fig. 6) so that the crank 41 may be pushed inward to move the racking pinion 6 into engagement with the large gear 4. The flange 44 then serves as. an obstruction against the lug 38 preventing the accidental or intentional starting of the machine by again throwing the lever 34 toward the left.

The purpose of the pinion 6 is to permit turning of the cylinder 2 by hand to bring the opening therein into registration with the door 3 of the tank 1. It usually occurs that the cylinder opening stops at the bottom of the tank, and it is necessary to bring the cylinder opening around where access may be had to the interior. Upon having turned the cylinder 2 around to the proper place, the cylinder may be held in such position by throwing the latch 46 over into engagement with the nearest of the notches 47 in the circular flange 44.

lVhile the construction and arrangement of the improved reversing mechanism and safety stopping device as herein described and claimed is that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim 1. A mechanism of the character described comprising a rotatable cylinder carrying a gear, a pinion in mesh withthe gear by which the cylinder is power driven,

a racking pinion engageable with the gear to rotate the cylinder by hand, power mechanism by which the driving pinion is operated, and means to prevent the engagement of the racking pinion with said gear while the driving pinion is power driven and also to prevent the application of driving power to said pinion while the racking pinion is in engagement with said gear.

A mechanism of the character described comprising rotatable cylinder hav i11 a gear, a driving pinion in engagement with the gear by which the cylinder is rotated, a racking pinion which is engageable with the gear to rotate the cylinder by hand, means by which power is applied to the driving pinion for rotating the cylinder, a control lever, and means associated with the control lever to prevent the meshing of the racking pinion with the gear while in the starting position and prevent the application of power to the driving pinion while in the stopping position.

3. A mechanism of the character described comp-r'ising a rotatable cylinder having a gear, a driving pinion in engagement with the gear by which the cylinder is rotated, a racking pinion which. is engageable with the gear to rotate the cylinder by hand, means by which power is applied to the driving pinion by rotating the cylinder, a control lever, means associated with the control lever to prevent the meshing of the racking pinion with the gear while in the starting position and prevent the application of power to the driving pinion while in the stopping position, said means then permitting the racking pinion to be moved into engagement with said gear, so that the cylinder may be turned by hand.

4. A mechanism of the character described comprising a rotatable cylinder having a gear, a driving pinion in engagement with the gear by which the cylinder is rotated, a racking pinion which is engageable with the gear to rotate the cylinder by hand, means by which power is applied to the driving pinion for rotating the cylinder, :1. control lever, means associated with the control lever to prevent the meshing of the racking pinion with the gear while in the starting position and prevent the application of power to the driving pinion while in the stopping position, said means then permitting the racking pinion to be moved into engagement with said gear, so that the cylinder be turned by hand, and means to hold the racking pinion in any desired radial position to correspondingly keep the cylinder from rotating.

5. A device of the character described comprising a rotatable cylinder having a gear, a driving pinion meshing with the gear, a racking pinion engageable with the gear for turning the cylinder by hand, means for turning the driving pinion in alternately opposite directions including a belt shifter frame, fast and loose pulleys and a shifter pinion turned thereby; an oscillator in. connection with the shifter pinion to move back and forth, a shifter bar carried by the frame arranged to engage the oscillator for the movement of the frame, and means to prevent the engagement of the racking pinion with the gear when the shifter bar is in engagement with the oscillator and conversely to per mit such engagement of the racking pinion upon having disengaged the shifter bar from the oscillator.

6. The combination in an apparatus of the character described comprising a belt shifter, an oscillator by which the belt shifter is operated, a shifter bar which is engageable with the oscillator to cause said operation, a cylinder which is rotated as a consequence of the operation of said belt shifter, and means to rotate the cylinder by hand and independently of the aforesaid action of said belt shifter, said means including cylinder driving gearing through which the oscillator may be moved to a position of engaging registration of the shifter bar.

7. The combination in mechanism of the character described of a rotatable cylinder having. a. gear, a shaft having a driving pinion in permanent contact with the gear belt, shifting mechanism associated with the shaft including a worm pinion and gear, an oscillator operated by the Worm gear and having a pin, a shifter bar attached to the shifter mechanism having a notch to receive the oscillator pin when the shifting mechanism is operative to rotate the driving pinion, and means which is engageable with the cylinder gear to rotat the cylinder by hand upon disconnection of the shifter bar from the oscillator pin, said means permitting adjusting the oscillator through the cylinder gear and driving pinion until said pin assumes a registering position with the shifter bar notch.

8. A device of the character described comprising a rotatable cylinder having a gear, mechanism for rotating the cylinder through said gear, a lever to control the operation of said mechanism, a racking pinion, means by which said pinion may be moved into engagement with the gear, and means carried by said control lever preventing the movement of the racking pinion into engagement with the gear when said mechanism is operative to rotate the cylinder but permitting such movement of the pinion when said mechanism has been rendered inoperative said lever.

9. A device of the character described comprising a rotatable cylinder having a gear, a control lever, mechanism under con- 'trol of the lever for starting or stopping the cylinder, .a shaft, a racking pinion mounted on the shaft, a bearing in which the shaft is slidable and rotatable said bearing having a reduced portion providing a groove, a hub fixed on the shaft having a crank handle and a circular flange said crank permitting sliding of the shaft and rotating the pinion, and a lug on the control lever obstructed by the circular flange when said pinion is in a racking position and thereby preventing operation of the cylinder by said drive mechanism but entering said groove upon displacement of the flange following withdrawal of, the pinion fromthe racking position in turn permitting shifting the control lever to set. the driving mechanism in operation.

10. A device of the character described comprising a rotatable cylinder having a gear, shaft, an adjacent fixed bearing supporting the shaft, a racking pinion on the inner end of the shaft, a crank at the opposite end of the shaft for sliding the pinion into engagement and disengagement with the gear and for rotating the: pinion, a hub by which the, crank is attached tothe shaft including a circular flange having notches, and means includinga movable member mounted on said bearing eng-ageable with the nearest one of the notches when the pinion is inengagement withthe gear to prevent rotation of the; shaft and cylinder and hold the latter in a certain position. v

11. The combination in, a device of the character described comprising a rotatable cylinder having a gear, a. driving pinion in mesh with the gear at one side, a racking pinion situated at the other side, mechanism for operating the racking pinion including a belt shifter frame, an oscillator having a pin, a shifter bar carried by the frame and having a notch to receive th oscillator pin and establish shifter operating connection therewith, a slider. receiving the free end of the shifter bar, a pivoted bell crank having connection with the slider, a control lever joined with the bell crank by a connecting rod, 1a lug on the control lever, and means associated with the racking pinion obstructing the lug and the control lever from assuming astarting position upon raising the shifter bar through said slider and moving the racking pinion into engagement with the gear but Permitting the movement of the lever to the starting position to consequently lower the shifter bar through said slider after having withdrawn the racking pinion from the gear.

REUBEN NORTON TOWERS. 

